


UK32-187

by yorkisms



Series: Lifeline Week '17 [5]
Category: Lifeline (Video Game 2015)
Genre: (canon), (small but present), Animal Abuse, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Robot dog Blue, Unethical experimentation (canon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-10-28 10:17:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10829238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yorkisms/pseuds/yorkisms
Summary: What did ALT need with a dog, anyway? Why there? Why alone? Who is Blue?The answer- as with most things- is with Dr. Sibellius.





	UK32-187

**Author's Note:**

> Lifeline week day 5: ~~favorite~~ side character! Blue! (And maybe some other side characters! All of them actually! Because this went a different direction halfway in!)
> 
> Don't be fooled, the intent of this piece was to write about Blue. And my fan theory that Blue was created by ALT and used as a test for the Adams series. 
> 
> It just ended up following Sibellius, because I will never be as good at writing about dogs as Jack London.
> 
> “This was a god indeed, a love-god, a warm and radiant god, in whose light White Fang's nature expanded as a flower expands under the sun.” ― Jack London, White Fang

They make the dog early on. 

He’s stronger than the average husky, hardier, too, an experiment in whether or not it’s possible to recreate life. A field test, if you will. 

The Doctor is not sure what to do with the dog once he’s done testing its neural networks and wires and responses. 

He considers killing it, but it’s so beautifully made- he made it himself, after all. So he keeps it around as he works on the first series and thinks- thinks very hard- about what to do.

The dog proves smarter than any average canine. He lets it follow him around the compound as he makes inspections, and after a few rounds it can remember where it’s been. 

That’s when he starts to think about things he can do with the dog.

The dog is clever. He thinks that he can use that. 

He doesn’t feel like naming the dog, really, so he gives it a proper designation rather than just killing it as he originally intended.

UK32-187. 

He starts building the first series of humanoid ones. It watches. 

He takes the consciousness of Unit Four out of the mainframe and puts it inside the first body. It thanks him. Calls him father again. 

An odd complex Unit Four developed. He doesn’t mind the implied respect, but it is quite odd. 

Possibly a good sign for developing Unit Four’s consciousness. 

Unit Four is ambivalent towards the dog. The dog follows at Unit Four’s heels at first, confused and fascinated with the half-complete metal form. He works on Unit Four’s body for a long time before deciding that it’s non-functional. The reflexes are too slow. Movements too jerky. Not human enough. 

Unit Four, to his credit, has never disobeyed an order. It returns to the mainframe as he works on the next version. 

He lets unit four test the next. The dog still seems fascinated with it, sniffing it constantly. 

To his credit, Unit Four is mostly gentle to the dog. He tries not to step on it when it’s underfoot and occasionally tosses it scraps from the doctor’s lunch.

The doctor never corrects Unit Four’s behavior. Instead, he takes note of it. It’s a sign of development for Unit Four, who has never scored high on the doctor’s tests of empathy or compassion. 

Once Unit Four reaches the third series the technical kinks are sorted. They move like humans now, act like humans, appear almost perfectly human. 

This is when the programming kinks go wrong. 

The doctor is starting to run low on time. He has multiple bodies now, patching issue after issue that he notes in the behavior of the Adams series.

He notes a particular issue. Empathy and compassion. It’s not just something that Unit Four fails in, it’s something that units One and Three also lack. 

Halfway through construction of unit Five, he puts the dog out at one of the smaller stations and leaves. As he does, he hears it start to howl. He’ll know they’re ready when he sees that dog again.

He puts units One, Two, and Three out in the snow. He wants to activate Five differently. He has bigger plans for this one. 

Every issue should be patched. Every error, corrected

Fifth time’s the charm. 

-

He’s running out of time. He sits in his laboratory, listening to the communicator crackle. 

“He’s even letting me pet him! He’s really soft.” 

The doctor hums softly. Unit Five released the dog. That’s a good sign, he thinks. 

Unit Five talks for a few minutes more. Irrelevant stuff. The doctor needs to know about the dog. What will Unit Five do with the dog?

One would assume that he sent it to spy. One left it in there. 

Two would have ignored it. Two was too caught up in his own problems. Faulty neural network.

Three would have killed it. So he could. 

Four...at this point, the doctor isn’t sure what Unit Four would have done.

But Unit Five. What is Unit Five going to do.

“...the rest looks like an ID number: UK32-187. Not exactly a name, is it, buddy? I think this big guy deserves a better one. Hmm...let me think…” 

There’s static silence. The doctor listens, intrigued.

“I’ll call him Blue, because of his piercing blue eyes...they’re sky blue, brimming with intelligence!”

> Why didn’t he bark at the visitor?

An obvious answer, the doctor thinks. The dog has seen most of the series, and each unit is virtually indistinguishable, even for the dog. 

He can only tell them apart because he spent so long building them. 

He makes a note, though. 

_ Unit Five- takes dog from stat. beta-3 _

_ Names dog. “Blue”  _

_ Empathy + compassion unprecedented in series, disregarding loyalty subroutines.  _

-

The next time the doctor sees the dog, it’s growling at him as Unit Five faces him down.

“-but can you tell your dog to stop growling at me?”

UK32-187’s lips curl over its teeth. 

It seems the dog hasn’t forgiven him for leaving it at the station. 

A necessary sacrifice. 

“Blue, sit. I know you don’t like him, but I’m trying to talk to him right now.”

Unit Five faces him. He almost wants to write something down. 

_ Polite to a fault. Kind. Compassion unprecedented in series. What to expect from the perfected artificial intelligence. _

“Sorry about that.” 

The doctor eyes the body he built. Sturdy. Toned, from the consistent few days of exercise. Perfect. It’s like looking into the past, as he said.

He’s going to love having that. 

Unit Five shifts in place under his gaze, disquieted. 

_ Unit can read tension in social situations. Advanced social skills incomparable to previous iterations of. Far outstrips units One through Three, possibly competing with the social experience of Unit Four. Interactions, however, certainly faked based on encrypted brain patterns. _

The doctor thinks he’s built the most perfect robot imaginable. 

It’s too bad that that beautifully developed artificial intelligence is going to be deleted within minutes.

A tragedy, but an acceptable one. 

He can get rid of the dog, after. It’s not like anyone will be around to notice. He won’t need this series anymore. 

He doesn’t need anything to do with these Units after this.

He might as well tell Unit Five what to do. 

How to be a good son, as Unit Four believed.

Unfortunate, he thinks, that Unit Four did not make it this far. Unit Four didn’t need this talk. Unit Four would have unquestioningly returned to the ALT mainframe and let the doctor take the perfected body.

But Unit Five…? Unit Five will surprise him, he thinks. Unit Five always has.

“It’s no trouble. Your purpose is one of preservation.”


End file.
